Alyssa Milano Calls for Sex Strike to Protest Anti-Abortion Laws

By R.J. Johnson - @rickerthewriterMay 12, 2019

InStyle And Warner Bros. Golden Globes After Party 2019 - Arrivals

Actress and activist Alyssa Milano is calling on her followers to participate in a sex strike to protest the recent signing of an anti-abortion bill in Georgia, but the response was probably not the one she was expecting.

Milano took to Twitter Friday night to suggest that women withhold sex from men because women 'just cannot risk pregnancy.'

"Our reproductive rights are being erased," Milano wrote in a tweet Friday night. "Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy. JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back.

"I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on," the actress wrote.

The tweet quickly went viral, racking up more than 41,000 likes and 42,000 replies.

Milano posted the tweet in response to the controversial "heartbeat bill" signed last week by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Georgia became the fourth state this year to ban any abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That can come as early as six weeks, which is before many women are aware they are pregnant.

Some exceptions to the law include if the pregnancy risks harm to the mother.

However, critics of Milano's call to action say the strike re-enforces the view that sex is only enjoyed by men and a sex strike treats women's bodies as if it were a form of currency to be traded.

"Please stop feeding the narrative that women are providers and men are consumers of sex," one person tweeted. "Bribing men for equal rights with access to our bodies is not how feminism works."

"Living under the patriarchy has already robbed me of safety, autonomy, opportunities, and trust in our institutions. Now I'm supposed to give up sex, too, and play into the fiction that it is just a bargaining chip/transaction for women," another critic noted on Twitter. "Love you, but nope."

"This makes it seem like sex is something women do as a favor to men; it also furthers the misogynist theory that women should be shamed for liking sex at all," one person wrote. "Sorry, @Alyssa_Milano, but I hate this."

Other people on Twitter commended the idea, saying it was just a rebrand of abstinence.

"Yes!!! You know how many problems we would solve with abstinence before marriage? Unwanted pregnancy, STDs, among others. Thank you for embracing the conservative Christian Worldview :D" one comment read.

":I’m praying your sex-strike catches on!! Think of all the abortions that will be avoided!" another person tweeted. "Meanwhile, I’ll keep working on defunding Planned Parenthood & overturning Roe v Wade! This is the 1st brilliant idea you’ve had!! Good job!!"

Milano followed up her tweet, explaining her motivation behind the sex strike:

"We can LOVE sex and fight for our bodily autonomy. There are lots of alternatives to cis men," she tweeted. "Protect your vaginas, ladies. Men in positions of power are trying to legislate them."